Meme
Association Meme: Comment to this post and I will give you 5 subjects/things I associate you with. Then post this in your LJ and elaborate on the subjects given.
My five from morganize:
1. Oscar Wilde:
Ohh, Oscar. I hardly know where to begin. I discovered Oscar Wilde through The Picture of Dorian Gray. I'm sure I'd seen The Importance of Being Earnest before that, but Dorian Gray was what really hooked me. There was the prose -- this gorgeous language, decadent but not at all pointless -- that was totally unlike what I expected out of that time period. The characters were wonderfully-drawn. And it was unapologetically gay. Yes, he had to tone it down to not get totally crucified for it, but consider the final product. That was toned down. Aside from Francesca Lia Block, Oscar Wilde was the only writer I'd come across who really wrote about queer relationships. And there was a deep intelligence behind his writing. So I started reading more of his stuff. I found myself totally appalled that The Importance of Being Earnest seemed to be all most people ever read of Wilde's, because as good as it is, it gives a false impression of Wilde's work. People see him as a writer of pretty, fun, frivolous things, and he's just not. Yes, he talked of beauty for beauty's sake, but he had beliefs. I wish everyone had read An Ideal Husband, or A Woman of No Importance, or Lady Windermere's Fan, or -- for fuck's sake -- The Soul of Man Under Socialism, or his stories for children. This was a deeply intelligent man with deeply held beliefs. Yes, he believed in beauty and wit, but that wasn't all. He believed fiercely in human rights, because only when people were fed and happy and free could they begin to realize their potential and create beauty. Yes, he criticized wealthy people's philanthropic projects, but only because they were doing stupid shit that didn't work, like playing piano duets or throwing little bits of money at the problem instead of overhauling the system. His wit was wonderful, but that wasn't all he had to offer. He wrote letters in favor of prison reform after seeing how inhumane and soul-killing the prison system in England was. He used his plays to call for an end to the social excommunication of "fallen" women, and ask why a man who did the same thing wasn't judged the same. And also -- even though I suspect he had internalized a lot of self-hatred, I think he had wonderful things to say about the self. "To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance." To not just accept oneself, be okay with oneself, but truly love oneself. I hate that we aren't supposed to talk about our own good qualities. The audacity he had in simply acknowledging his own intelligence and talent -- amazing. I fiercely admire that. He was such a fascinating, flawed, wonderful human being, and I am in awe.
2. Music:
Music has always been a major part of my life. I grew up listening to the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, and Janis Joplin with my dad, to show tunes or little folk groups with my mom. Those artists connected me to my parents. When I got older music became something my brothers and I shared. Tyler introduced me to Alanis Morisette. Josh sat me down and made me listen to Dispatch and Atmosphere for the first time. I introduced them to Ani Difranco and Dar Williams and Tori Amos. Music created a sense of sharing and community. My friends and I exchanged it. For about a year in high school I was completely absorbed in J-rock. My favorite artists are still those who say something to me -- I still always find myself either grinning or crying every time I hear Dispatch's The General. Ani Difranco makes me feel powerful, and Dar Williams has this wonderful hopefulness in her music that can make a whole bad week better. A friend came to visit last weekend and we went to a piano bar and spent the whole night singing. I think more people should do that.
3. Theater:
Can I say this is what I live for without being totally cheesy? Because I do. I mean, I'd probably get by without, but I don't even know who I would be. I took my first acting class when I was eight. Eight. I've been doing theatre ever since. I can't get over how fascinating it is creating this whole world onstage for people, or watching other people do it for me. I think theatre is wonderful, whether it's for a greater cause (I performed in The Vagina Monologues raising money for a women's shelter and women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo last weekend, and there was this spark in the audience, all these people activated, and if even a few of them go out and do something useful it will be worth it) or simply to entertain people, I think it's worthwhile. We need entertainment. We need art. There's a reason people have been pursuing art ever since it was storytelling around a fire or making pictures in caves with twigs. We use art to communicate with each other, to talk about what it is like to be human, to make each other feel. I can't imagine doing anything else with my life.
4. Costumes:
Costumes are so much fun. I wish I were someone who could create them. I've tried, and I just can't. But I want to know so much about them. The clothes people wear tell you so much about them. They make you move differently. I think of everyday clothes as costumes -- just by dressing myself I am sending signals for the world, giving them clues about how to perceive me. I think more people should do that. It lends an element of playfulness. You get to wake up and decide who you're going to be that day, but each and every one of those people is you. I sit differently on skirt days than pants days. I move differently in heels. And stage costumes are an even more intensified version of that. If you're wearing a corset you'll sit taller because you can't slouch comfortably, and that tells you how to be, because suddenly you're a person who sits up tall. I love the details -- like how when I was working in the shop my freshman year during Three Sisters, they had to style wigs for all but one of the women, even though most of them had long hair, because it wasn't long or thick enough to create the period look. I love that you need the right undergarments to get the silhouette down, because those force the actor even more into character. I have so much respect for people who design and make costumes. There are so many things to think about, and once you've sorted all that out you still have to be creative and differentiate all the characters and work with the other designers to make sure it's okay with the set and such. Amazing.
5. Cool old things of all stripes:
I've always been really into history. But I'm not big on the type of history that's all names and dates and wars, because it doesn't really tell you anything about the people, and people are what's fascinating. So that's why I'm into the clothes, and the trinkets, and the books, and the technology. Because it's so much more telling to see what people did every day, what they used and what they wore and what they read. I have a psychology book from 1881, and it's incredible what they thought of as insanity. Hysteria, for example (oh no! A woman with a sex drive!) or "inversion" (they didn't just think being gay was a disorder, they thought it made you a raving lunatic with funny ears.) I couldn't live in the past, because I'm entirely too modern in sensibility -- I'm too into women's and GLBTQA rights, and anti-racism efforts -- but I'd love to visit. I want to know where we came from. How people got to be the way we are. (And besides. Old stuff is pretty.)
My five from morganize:
1. Oscar Wilde:
Ohh, Oscar. I hardly know where to begin. I discovered Oscar Wilde through The Picture of Dorian Gray. I'm sure I'd seen The Importance of Being Earnest before that, but Dorian Gray was what really hooked me. There was the prose -- this gorgeous language, decadent but not at all pointless -- that was totally unlike what I expected out of that time period. The characters were wonderfully-drawn. And it was unapologetically gay. Yes, he had to tone it down to not get totally crucified for it, but consider the final product. That was toned down. Aside from Francesca Lia Block, Oscar Wilde was the only writer I'd come across who really wrote about queer relationships. And there was a deep intelligence behind his writing. So I started reading more of his stuff. I found myself totally appalled that The Importance of Being Earnest seemed to be all most people ever read of Wilde's, because as good as it is, it gives a false impression of Wilde's work. People see him as a writer of pretty, fun, frivolous things, and he's just not. Yes, he talked of beauty for beauty's sake, but he had beliefs. I wish everyone had read An Ideal Husband, or A Woman of No Importance, or Lady Windermere's Fan, or -- for fuck's sake -- The Soul of Man Under Socialism, or his stories for children. This was a deeply intelligent man with deeply held beliefs. Yes, he believed in beauty and wit, but that wasn't all. He believed fiercely in human rights, because only when people were fed and happy and free could they begin to realize their potential and create beauty. Yes, he criticized wealthy people's philanthropic projects, but only because they were doing stupid shit that didn't work, like playing piano duets or throwing little bits of money at the problem instead of overhauling the system. His wit was wonderful, but that wasn't all he had to offer. He wrote letters in favor of prison reform after seeing how inhumane and soul-killing the prison system in England was. He used his plays to call for an end to the social excommunication of "fallen" women, and ask why a man who did the same thing wasn't judged the same. And also -- even though I suspect he had internalized a lot of self-hatred, I think he had wonderful things to say about the self. "To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance." To not just accept oneself, be okay with oneself, but truly love oneself. I hate that we aren't supposed to talk about our own good qualities. The audacity he had in simply acknowledging his own intelligence and talent -- amazing. I fiercely admire that. He was such a fascinating, flawed, wonderful human being, and I am in awe.
2. Music:
Music has always been a major part of my life. I grew up listening to the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, and Janis Joplin with my dad, to show tunes or little folk groups with my mom. Those artists connected me to my parents. When I got older music became something my brothers and I shared. Tyler introduced me to Alanis Morisette. Josh sat me down and made me listen to Dispatch and Atmosphere for the first time. I introduced them to Ani Difranco and Dar Williams and Tori Amos. Music created a sense of sharing and community. My friends and I exchanged it. For about a year in high school I was completely absorbed in J-rock. My favorite artists are still those who say something to me -- I still always find myself either grinning or crying every time I hear Dispatch's The General. Ani Difranco makes me feel powerful, and Dar Williams has this wonderful hopefulness in her music that can make a whole bad week better. A friend came to visit last weekend and we went to a piano bar and spent the whole night singing. I think more people should do that.
3. Theater:
Can I say this is what I live for without being totally cheesy? Because I do. I mean, I'd probably get by without, but I don't even know who I would be. I took my first acting class when I was eight. Eight. I've been doing theatre ever since. I can't get over how fascinating it is creating this whole world onstage for people, or watching other people do it for me. I think theatre is wonderful, whether it's for a greater cause (I performed in The Vagina Monologues raising money for a women's shelter and women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo last weekend, and there was this spark in the audience, all these people activated, and if even a few of them go out and do something useful it will be worth it) or simply to entertain people, I think it's worthwhile. We need entertainment. We need art. There's a reason people have been pursuing art ever since it was storytelling around a fire or making pictures in caves with twigs. We use art to communicate with each other, to talk about what it is like to be human, to make each other feel. I can't imagine doing anything else with my life.
4. Costumes:
Costumes are so much fun. I wish I were someone who could create them. I've tried, and I just can't. But I want to know so much about them. The clothes people wear tell you so much about them. They make you move differently. I think of everyday clothes as costumes -- just by dressing myself I am sending signals for the world, giving them clues about how to perceive me. I think more people should do that. It lends an element of playfulness. You get to wake up and decide who you're going to be that day, but each and every one of those people is you. I sit differently on skirt days than pants days. I move differently in heels. And stage costumes are an even more intensified version of that. If you're wearing a corset you'll sit taller because you can't slouch comfortably, and that tells you how to be, because suddenly you're a person who sits up tall. I love the details -- like how when I was working in the shop my freshman year during Three Sisters, they had to style wigs for all but one of the women, even though most of them had long hair, because it wasn't long or thick enough to create the period look. I love that you need the right undergarments to get the silhouette down, because those force the actor even more into character. I have so much respect for people who design and make costumes. There are so many things to think about, and once you've sorted all that out you still have to be creative and differentiate all the characters and work with the other designers to make sure it's okay with the set and such. Amazing.
5. Cool old things of all stripes:
I've always been really into history. But I'm not big on the type of history that's all names and dates and wars, because it doesn't really tell you anything about the people, and people are what's fascinating. So that's why I'm into the clothes, and the trinkets, and the books, and the technology. Because it's so much more telling to see what people did every day, what they used and what they wore and what they read. I have a psychology book from 1881, and it's incredible what they thought of as insanity. Hysteria, for example (oh no! A woman with a sex drive!) or "inversion" (they didn't just think being gay was a disorder, they thought it made you a raving lunatic with funny ears.) I couldn't live in the past, because I'm entirely too modern in sensibility -- I'm too into women's and GLBTQA rights, and anti-racism efforts -- but I'd love to visit. I want to know where we came from. How people got to be the way we are. (And besides. Old stuff is pretty.)